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Title: SidelinesRating: PG/K+Prompt: Lies (29)Characters: Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione GrangerPairing: Harry/Hermione, Ron/HermioneSummary: Ron Weasley lied through his teeth, just to make his best friends happy. Because that's what friends do, no matter how much it hurts.

Sidelines

As much as he didn't want to admit it, they looked good together— Harry and Hermione, that is. They were dancing, but no longer matching the rhythm of the music, but neither seemed to care. They were too busy looking into each other's eyes with one of those idiotic hopelessly-in-love smiles plastered on each of their faces. It was sickening to look at, but he couldn't seem to turn his eyes away. It was like watching a wreck, but instead of it being two brooms or a train, the wreck was his life. He could have— should have — been the one holding Hermione in his arms, dancing like nothing else in the world even matter. In fact, he used to be the guy holing Hermione in his arms. What happened?

What happened? It was a stupid question really. Ron knew perfectly well what happened. They had fought. A lot. They fought over little things and they fought over big things. They would argue over which restaurant to have dinner at or what color to paint the bathroom in their flat. (Was there really such a big difference between mango peach and peach mango?) Eventually, Hermione got sick of their petty fights and stormed out. Ron never went after her, and she didn't come back. A few months later, she and Harry began dating.

Ron felt like he had been stabbed in the back when he found out about his two best friend's relationship. It was the worst kind of betrayal. Hadn't Harry once told him that he only thought of Hermione as a sister? That feeling had obviously changed. When had it? Ron didn't know and he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to. Did Harry begin to develop feeling toward Hermione when they were still a couple? Was that why Harry ended it with Ginny? Harry had told him it was because Ginny was too clingy and that in the end, he couldn't envision a future with her. Was that because he was envisioning his future with Hermione? The thought made Ron sick. How could Harry betray him like that?

They even had the audacity to ask if it was okay— them being together that is. They even told him if it wasn't, they wouldn't continue with their relationship. They had been serious when they came to him, and what did he do? He laughed. He laughed in the faces of he two best friends. Of course it was okay for them to be together. He had no problem with it. He was happy for them. Why did they ever think to ask for his permission? Hahahaha… He wanted to hex them, to make him feel the pain he was feeling. So what did he do? Ron Weasley lied through his teeth. He said the opposite of what he truly felt to make his friends happy. Because in the end, they were his friends. Seeing them together hurt like hell, but they were still his friends and in the end, they deserved some happiness. Merlin knows Harry needed some after everything he went through…

So here Ron was, sitting on the sidelines at a celebration party— had it really been three years since Voldemort was defeated?— watching his two best friends slow dance to an upbeat song, lost in each other. They would have looked like idiots if they didn't look like they were so much in love. He would have laughed at them anyway, if they weren't Harry and Hermione. Because they were his best friends and best friends did what they had to do, even if it killed him.

-Fin-

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